They're already confirmed to appear at this year's Hard Rock Hell VI festival, they're managed by a member of The Quireboys - there appears to be plenty going on to fan the flames of UK rock 'n' rollers The Burning Crows. Ross Welford, who, when reviewing the band's 'Never Had It So Good' EP, said that they "have everything you want in this type of band," gets down 'n' dirty with the four band members in yet another Uber Rock interview exclusive.....

First off, tell us a little about The Burning Crows. Who's in the band and what's your history?
 
Whippz - Vocals & Guitars
Lance Daniels - Guitars & Backing Vocals
Will Lockett - Bass & Backing Vocals
Chris Chapman - Drums & Percussion
 
We've all played together in various projects before, so it was kind of inevitable now we think about it that this would happen as we've known each other for years in and outside of the music scene. When the band started out the timing was pretty much perfect and typically it all came together over a completely random encounter in the boozer one sunny afternoon a couple of years ago and it's all pretty effortless and organic as far as writing and performing goes. Since then we've spent a lot of time touring up and down the country, getting well into a 3 digit figure on the gig counter now and in the past 6 months it's all been about the new EP ('Never Had It So Good'), going backwards and forward between here and Rockfield Studios in Wales recording then investing a massive amount of time, effort, blood, sweat and tears in getting it out there to you beautiful people.

Having reviewed to your new EP, it's a barn storming 5 tracks of great British Rock. How's the reception been so far? 
 
Thank you. It's been incredible, really very humbling. We released it in our hometown to a sold out audience on March 3rd, and it was amazing to see people who we've played to before coming from all over the country to be there with us on the night. It's only been a few weeks but there seems to be really positive buzz around it, both from the fans and people in the business like yourselves. There's new reviews popping up every few days now and people just seem to be really into what were doing, so all things being well, you'll be seeing a lot of more of us soon. If anyone reading this wants to check it out, there's some teasers at www.theburningcrows.com or you can buy on itunes for a mere £3.95. Check it out.

A bargain! How did Keith Weir of The Quireboys get involved in your EP?
 
Well, there's the obvious connection our manager Matt Goom (drummer of The Quireboys), but our paths have crossed a few times over the years. Going from chatting to him after watching their gigs through to hooking up his performance on the EP backstage at one of the festivals last summer. He's a genuinely top bloke and it's really exciting for us who grew up listening to the band, to have him playing on the track.
 
I know you've just been booked for Hard Rock Hell later in the year and Uber Rock are always at HRH to help lubricate the rock wheels. Do you know which day you are playing and are you looking forward to sharing the bill with some rock greats?

Yes indeed, we literally cannot wait. We're still waiting for confirmation on which day, but to be honest, being on the same bill with any of those bands is a privilege and an honour. Again, these are bands we grew up listening to, and you can probably pick out some of the influence when we play live. Personal favourites have to be The Electric Boys, The Dogs D'Amour and Ace Frehley (Whippz & Lance in particular are close to tears at sharing the stage with the Space Ace). Going to be a great weekend. This sells out every year, so get your tickets now!

What are the year's plans for The Burning Crows?
 
There's a lot of great stuff happening behind the scenes at the moment and, sorry to coin a clichéd phrase, but we really can't say too much at the moment. What we can say is that there's a lot of great shows and festivals in the pipeline at the moment, the new video for 'Slow Up, Get Down' will be out in the next few weeks, and we're toying with the idea of heading back to Rockfield in Wales to record an album towards the end of the year with Nick Brine again, so it's all going on for us right now. I suppose you could say we've Never Had It So Good - sorry, couldn't resist.

A blatant plug never hurt anyone! How did you manage to get Nick Brine involved?
 
A lot of it was down to chance, luck and us having crossed paths with him a few times in previous projects. When it came to choosing a producer we batted a lot of names around but it kept coming back to Nick, so we gave him a call and booked in to Leeders Farm (the studio he co-owned with Dan Hawkins of The Darkness) but due to diaries not quite tieing up, we ended up going to Rockfield (where Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', Oasis's 'What's the Story', The Darkness and Black Sabbath have all been recorded) which was incredible. We're not really big on the whole spiritual side of life, but if we had a spiritual home, it'd be there. The great thing is that Nick just seemed to get it and it all came together really easily. We won't go into details about what may or may not have happened there, but we had a couple of laughs as well along the way...

After hearing your track 'You, Me, Tonight' a rabid discussion on the mighty cowbell took place and many loved the obvious 'Don't Fear The Reaper' as the track of choice but I plumped for The Crue's 'Come On And Dance' (even if it is slightly out of time!) What's your favourite cowbell track of choice and do you think we need more of it these days? I blame Nu-Metal for its decline!
 
Haha! Favourite cowbell track? That's a tough one, either 'Chris Chapman's Cowbell Concerto in C' or his rendition of 'Flight of the Bumblebee' played entirely on cowbells - truly inspired. We're not going to point fingers at who is responsible for its decline, but it would seem that Chris is heading up a one man/drummer campaign to bring it back into the public eye, or ears as it were. He's a massive enthusiast of the instrument and is made up that you all like his huge and shiny bell in your ears, he hopes to get it into many more very soon.

And finally, Is there anything you'd like to add? 
 
There's a lot of exciting stuff happening in the next few months and it's great to have you all on board with us, so nothing but love to each and every one of you. For those of you that haven't seen us before, get to a show, get the drinks in and we'll see you at the front. Cheers people - Whippz, Lance, Will & Chris
 
Thanks to The Burning Crows who, by the sound of it, will be here, there and everywhere soon enough so keep your eyes peeled Uber peeps.

www.theburningcrows.com